In the Grammar and Vocabulary section, you will learn:

• Numbers II (11-99)
• Dates
• Age
• Predicates without Verbs
• The Question Word 幾時 gei2 si4 (‘when’)
• The Question Expression 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3 / 幾歲 gei2 seoi3 (‘how old’)
• The Question Expression 幾大 gei2 daai6 (‘how old’)
• Vocabulary List

Let’s review the numbers from 0 to 10. Note that we use 兩 loeng5 when ‘two’ is followed by a classifier.

For 11 to 19, we first say 十 sap6 (the place value for tens) and then the ones digit.

For 20, 30, 40, etc., we first say the tens digit and then 十 sap6 (the place value for tens).

For numbers not ending with zero (e.g., 36, 58), we first say the tens digit, then 十 sap6 (the place value for tens) and then the ones digit.

In casual speech, we often contract 20, 30, 40, etc. when they are followed by a ones digit other than 0 (1 to 9) or a classifier. For 20, we contract 二十 ji6 sap6 to 廿 jaa6. For 30, we contract 三十 saam1 sap6 to 卅呀 saa1 aa6. From 40 to 90, we change 十 sap6 to 呀 aa6.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 2.4, we learned that we use 兩 loeng5 for ‘two’ when indicating the quantity of something. Note that we use 兩 loeng5 only when the quantity is exactly two. For other numbers ending with 2 (12, 22, 32, etc.), we always read the ones digit 2 as 二 ji6 but not 兩 loeng5.

We can put 幾 gei2 (‘several’) after 10, 20, 30, etc. to mean ’10, 20, 30 something, etc.’. 幾 gei2 usually refers to a quantity between 3 and 9 inclusive.

We can also put 幾 gei2 before 十 sap6 (the place value for tens) to indicate the quantity of ‘several tens’, which is similar to dozens in English.

Say each number in both full and contracted forms. Then, check your answers and repeat after the recordings.

1. 24

2. 30

3. 45

4. 71

5. 56

6. 20

7. 62

8. 77

9. 18

10. 80

11. 39

12. 93

For the year, we read each digit one by one and then add the word 年 (‘year’).

There is one exception: we can read the year 2000 as 二零零零年 ji6 ling4 ling4 ling4 nin4 or 二千年 ji6 cin1 nin4 (‘two thousand + year’).

We can contract a year by saying only the last two digits.

For the month, we read its number form (e.g., 1 for January, 2 for February) like normal numbers and then add the word 月 jyut6 (‘month; moon’).

For the day, we read the number like normal numbers and then add the word 號 hou6 (‘number’) or 日 jat6 (‘day; sun’). 日 jat6 is usually only used in more formal contexts when the month of the date is mentioned at the same time (e.g., 九月一日 gau2 jyut6 jat1 jat6 ‘1st of September’).

We say the date in this order: year, month and day (from the larger unit to the smaller unit).

We use the same order even if we don’t mention the year or the day.

For dates, we always say 二 ji6 instead of 兩 loeng5 for ‘two’.

We put the year, month, day or date before the verb we want to modify.

Say each date. The dates below follow this order: year, month and day. Use the word 號 hou6 for the day. Also, say the day in both full form and contracted forms. Then, check your answers and repeat after the recordings.

1. 2025-12-28

2. 1980-2-5

3. 2013-10-31

4. 1996-9-16

5. 2009-7-24

6. 2021-11-12

To indicate someone’s age, we say the number and then add the classifier 歲 seoi3 (‘year old’). Notice 歲 seoi3 is used alone without a noun in the example below.

歲 seoi3 is a measurement unit classifier. Measurement unit classifiers are a group of measure classifiers for quantities like time, weight, length and money. Some of them can be used alone without a noun. We will learn other measurement unit classifiers in later lessons.

In grammar, a predicate refers to everything after the subject in a sentence.

In English, the predicate of a sentence usually has a verb (e.g., I like you. I am 31 years old.). In Cantonese, the predicate of a sentence sometimes doesn’t have any verbs. We will encounter two sentence structures like this in this lesson.

To indicate someone’s age, we use the following sentence structure. Notice we put the person and the age right next to each other, without adding any verbs in between.

We can add 今年 gam1 nin4 (‘this year’) before the age.

To indicate someone’s birthday, we use the following sentence structure. Notice we put the person, the date and the noun 生日 saang1 jat6 (‘birthday’) right next to each other, without adding any verbs in between.

The question word 幾時 gei2 si4 is similar to when in English. We can use 幾時 gei2 si4 to form a question that elicits a date or time as the answer.

When we are not sure where we should put 幾時 gei2 si4, we can always think of the answer to the question. We put 幾時 gei2 si4 at the position where the date or time appears in the answer.

The question expression 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3 is similar to how old in English. We form the expression by combining 幾多 gei2 do1 (‘how many, how much’) and the classifier 歲 seoi3 (‘year old’). We can use 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3 to form a question that elicits an age as the answer.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 11.6, we learned that when 幾多 gei2 do1 is followed by a classifier, 幾多 gei2 do1 can be contracted to 幾 gei2. Since 歲 seoi3 is a classifier, we can contract 幾多 gei2 do1 to 幾 gei2 and say 幾歲 gei2 seoi3.

When we are not sure where we should put 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3, we can always think of the answer to the question. We put 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3 at the position where the age appears in the answer.

The question expression 幾大 gei2 daai6 (literally ‘how + old’) is similar to how old in English. We can use 幾大 gei2 daai6 to form a question that elicits an age as the answer.

When we are not sure where we should put 幾大 gei2 daai6, we can always think of the answer to the question. We put 幾大 gei2 daai6 at the position where the age appears in the answer.

In the Communication section, you will learn:

• Talking About Age
• Talking About Birthdays